Oral care products are available in many forms. Mouthwashes and fluoride rinses are typically liquids. Dentifrices are usually formulated as viscous gels pastes or powders. Breath fresheners can be found in tablet or strip form. Whiteners are typically provided in gel or gel-on-strip forms. Tablets, particularly chewable tablets, would seem to be an ideal product form for delivering functional ingredients to the oral cavity, particularly to the teeth and gums. This is so for several reasons. First, tablets are highly concentrated product forms and thus can carry high levels of solid ingredients. It can often be difficult to carry high levels of functional materials in liquid products as solubility limitations can cause product instability. Second, when tablets are chewed, the functional ingredients contained in them are placed in direct contact with the teeth. This allows excellent delivery of these materials to the tooth surface. Third, aesthetically, tablets provide an interesting sensory experience for the user. This is particularly true in the case of effervescent tablets. The gas releasing action of these products provides multisensory tactile and auditory stimulation to the user.
Many prior art patents show the general concept of providing a tablet or capsule that can be put in the mouth of a user for various purposes. Bly et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,778,045 teaches the use of a capsule that is broken by the teeth to release a dentifrice. Alternatively the dentifrice may dissolve, followed by use of a brush. No foamable component is disclosed.
Also suggested is the use of the capsule itself as a brush. Emond U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,208 discloses a dental cleanser in tablet form. Calcium carbonate is mixed with sodium lauryl sulphate to bind together into a tablet that may be crushed by the teeth. The sodium lauryl sulphate is said to cause a foaming nature upon brushing the teeth.
Gyarmathy et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,431,339 discloses a dental tablet for use in place of toothpaste. The tablet is said to be an intimate blend of water-soluble fluorine containing agents, polishing agents and foaming agents in a releasable matrix. Again, sodium lauryl sulphate is disclosed as one foaming agent. The patent suggests that fluorine and calcium are sometimes incompatible in toothpastes and this tablet solves that problem. The examples shown in the patent involve a great number of ingredients, and simplifying the tablet would be one significant advantage in the art. The patent also discloses hardness and thickness values.
Luyties U.S. Pat. No. 834,676 simply discloses that his formulation may be compressed into a tablet or lozenge form. Westlake U.S. Pat. No. 975,814 also simply discloses a tablet form as being preferred. Burlew U.S. Pat. No. 1,411,681 discloses a thin tablet that fits between the teeth of a toothbrush.
McDowell U.S. Pat. No. 1,516,398 discloses a chewing gum with a treating agent contained in a cavity in the gum. Elgen U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,590 teaches the improvement of using an aliphatic aldehyde or oxyderivative thereof for use in any dental product including both toothpaste and tablets, chewing gum, lozenges, etc.
Welsh et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,343 discloses an effervescent tablet form cleaning the oral cavity by dissolution of the tablet in water. Tomaich et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,252 discloses a tablet that is claimed to keep the active ingredients active for an extended period of time. The material is rehydrated into a viscous paste and is applied by a dental hygienist. Also, hardness is disclosed, but for narrower values than Gyarmathy et al. 3.5 to 4.0 versus 2.5 to 6.0, using different scales.
A series of four prior art patents relate to the use of chewable tablets. U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,165, to Arnold discloses an antiplaque oral composition using a source of carbon dioxide, silica and xylitol where the carbon dioxide comes from a bicarbonate. The effervescent tablet converts to a solid silica containing suspension in the saliva of an oral cavity. U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,294 is a continuation patent to Arnold that discloses a bicarbonate and acid, with silica or other solid materials, in a ratio of 0.32 to 1.0 to 0.8 to 1.0. U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,110 is a second continuation patent to Arnold in this series that discloses the carbon dioxide source and acid with silica and without the use of xylitol. Finally, the last Arnold continuation patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,854, discloses the carbon dioxide source, the acid, xylitol and a precipitated amorphous silica. All four Arnold patents have an insoluble silica material as an abrasive The range of acid, such as citric acid, to bicarbonate ion is one part of acid to from about 1 to 20 parts of the latter, with 1.5 to 10 parts of bicarbonate atom per one part of fruit acid.
None of the prior art discloses a tablet for use with the oral cavity of a human in which the effectiveness of the tablet not only pleases the user but eliminates the use of any solid, nonsoluble material. Such a table would be an advance in the art.
One embodiment of the present invention is to provide an effervescent tablet that leaves a clean feeling in the mouth and can be used to carry a variety of functional ingredients to the oral cavity.
Another embodiment is to provide a tablet acceptable for consumer use, this tablet that must dissolve completely and quickly without grittiness, have a flavor that is not too salty or acidic and that is compatible with available flavors and sweeteners, and not be abrasive to the teeth, gums or any part of the mouth.
Another embodiment is to provide a tablet for a variety of oral cavity uses which does not have any solid material upon dissolution by chewing and mixing with saliva or other suitable liquids.
Other embodiments will appear hereinafter.